'Ahead of schedule'?

[Mehrgan]

Hi all,
Would you please tell me what the antonym of this expression?


Can we also say, 'we're ahead of our plans'?


Thanks.

[5jj]

Behind schedule.

Can we also say, 'we're ahead of our plans'?
It doesn't sound natural at the moment. I'm thinking.

5

[5jj]

COCA gives only one example each of 'ahead of our plan' and 'ahead of plan', and none for 'ahead of our plans' or 'ahead of plans.

There's nothing grammatically wrong with these expressions - it just seems that we don't use them.

[BobK]

COCA gives only one example each of 'ahead of our plan' and 'ahead of plan', and none for 'ahead of our plans' or 'ahead of plans.

There's nothing grammatically wrong with these expressions - it just seems that we don't use them.

I imagine in each of those cases "plan" refers to a bit of paper, so that 'ahead of the plan' is an abbreviation of 'ahead of the date specified in the plan'. Business is very keen on things that are 'on plan' or 'to plan'*.

b

PS * 'To plan' means '[conformant] to [the] plan'; it isn't an analogue of 'to do'. When a businessman/woman boasts about something being 'to plan' s/he isn't saying they have yet to be planned. (Except when s/he is, of course; context is everything).